Francine could only watch in awe as the two men fought. No, this was not a fight between men; this was a fight of beasts. The two opponents struck each other with enough force to sunder stone, yet they hardly moved from where they stood. With each punch, their speed grew until they hit each other so fast that Francine could no longer keep up with them. She could only tell for certain that one or the other had been hit by the sound of meat breaking and flesh cracking.
Darwin could not help but laugh as he traded blows with Sola. Crystal covered most of his body now, leaving only his face, back and legs covered. Even his gloves were reinforced by the crystals. His punches bruised heavily on impact turning Sola's skin black and blue as the two continued their onslaught.
"It's no use!" He laughed. "You can't break Hardened Stardust! My Revel Art has never been beaten!"
"Shut up," Sola said bluntly as he punched Darwin in the jaw. The blonde man smiled and returned the punch, causing him to stagger.
It was the first time since Sola could remember that he was getting overwhelmed in a fight. He knew if he had entered the first fresh from the start, he would not be in this situation. His body was bruised and bloody. His lungs were worn, and his eyes were heavy, but he could not afford to stop now. All the veins bulged on Sola's body, and he began to fight again with began to fight with an adrenaline-based vigour.
With his second wind, his movements were faster than Darwin's. Hitting the mercenary's armoured body got him nowhere, now he had to make sure it was the same with him. Darwin launched a flurry of blows at the grey-haired man but not a single one seemed to land. In a swift motion, Sola launched an uppercut, hitting Darwin square in his chin. For a few seconds, the man's eyes rolled back, and it seemed as though he was going to fall. Before that could happen, he regained composure and launched back into the fight more fanatically.
The large man lunged at Sola in an attempt to tackle him. The nimbler fighter sidestepped the attack and grabbed Darwin by the shorts. He lifted him into the air and landed a suplex on him. The ground gave a dull thud on impact. Sola immediately mounted Darwin and began to punch his face in. He was only able to land three blows before he was kicked off.
"That's it!" Darwin mouthed, his nose broken and bloody. "Show me more!"
The two got back on their feet and charged at each other, beginning their clash again. Darwin was still unable to land a blow on Sola no matter how many he threw. Sola, on the other hand, kept targeting his face, trying his hardest to knock him out to no avail. The grey-haired man threw one more uppercut with all his might. Instead of skin, his fist connected with crystal. Darwin looked him straight in his eyes as the rest of his body became covered in crystal. His armour was not impenetrable.
Sola could only stay on the defensive as Darwin's onslaught. He could not keep this up for long. Stopping the bleeding from his current wounds was already taking its toll. He couldn't start another adrenaline boost to give him a boost. He could not put it off any longer. It had to be used.
Darwin knocked Sola back into a tree whilst laughing maniacally. His eyes gleamed with ecstasy as he began to beat down on the grey-haired man. Silver blood splattered everywhere, covering the leaves, bark, ground and crystals with a metallic sheen. Darwin was at the peak of his bliss, but there was one thing that ruined the moment for him. No matter how much and hard he beat Sola, no matter how much damage he was dealt and the blood he lost, the Silver Bulwark refused to fall.
"I admire your endurance," he said. "And I'll honour you by completely eviscerating you completely!"
He punched Sola through a tree and spread his arms apart. The crystal covering him began to glow brightly. In an instant, he was gleaming like he was a star coming down to the surface of the planet. The light began to gather at the crystal on his chest. The crystals on the rest of his body dimmed and crumbled whilst the large chunk on his chest became blinding to look at.
"Stardust Light Beam!" Darwin yelled.
The light exploded into a concentrated beam of Revel that flew at Sola. Francine let out a scream as he was covered in a baptism of light and energy. Darwin turned to her with a cruel smile on his face. The rest of the crystals crumbled away but he could not have cared less.
"All that's left is to finish things off," he said.
"How about you come up with a better name for your finishing move because 'Stardust Light Beam' sucks shit,"
Darwin's eyes widened in disbelief. He knew whose voice that was, but he refused to it. He turned around slowly, holding on to the hope that he was mishearing something else, but he was wrong. Sola still stood where he was with everything but him having been destroyed by the beam of Revel. His body was covered by a metallic coat that liquified and swirled into a floating ball. Darwin was confused at the sight of this. Sola had control over his blood, but he could not see the glow of Revel around him. He had never heard of Sola having a Revel Art before either.
"Esper..." He whispered in fear.
"I probably should call this next move something," Sola said. He drew more of his blood from his body and the silver stains all over, slowly giving it form.
"How's 'Gungnir'?"
The blood settled into the shape of a spear 8 feet long with a diamond-shaped tip. With all the blood still left in his body and his combined mental might, the man threw the spear with great force. Darwin barely had enough time to react. He attempted to create more crystals, but it was already too late. The spear ripped through his chest killing him instantaneously. The spear carried the corpse back several feet before coming to a halt and flying back into Sola's hands. Darwin's body lay there lifelessly, his eyes immortalising the glee he had felt in his last moments.
Once the battle maniac's body hit the floor, Francine felt her breathing ease. It was finally over. Now they could go and save Jonathan before it was too late. Sola, on the other hand, did not seem to share that same sentiment. He began to approach her with his blood spear still in hand and killing intent in his eyes.
"What are you doing?" Francine asked as he backed away.
"You've found out I'm a psychic," Sola said flatly. "Did you think you'd get to live after that?"